As previously mentioned, I started a thread on the Yahoo! Typewriters Group (oh yes - there is one) and boy has it generated some commentary. There's even a guy there whom I presume is well known and recognized as a typewriter expert (oh yes - they do exist) and he's stated that he's turned off his phone "to avoid being in the middle of this circus".

Oy!

If what is being said there is accurate, these "memos" are about as legitimate as Britney Spears' marriage. There are two threads:

I had to relearn how to shave my chin today. First time in over four years.

It feels weird. My goatee kept the wind off the lower half of my face, and now I can feel a soft breeze with my chin. I used to just shave the sides of my face and my neck. A few quick straight passes with the razor and I was done. This morning I was forced to remember how to curve the razor around my chin, how to cut the hair without cutting myself. I had never quite understood how much of an memorized ritual shaving was. Now I do, because I had grown out of that habit.

But I managed to not cut the hell out of myself, and I now have a smooth chin for the first time in years. Believe it or not, this is the first time that the Raging Girlfriend has seen me without my goatee. She says that from the side it shows just how much of a babyface I have. Seriously, I couldn't grow a full beard to save my life. Well, not one that looked good, anyways. That'll be a blessing when I'm sixty.

Some people will wonder why the hell I shaved my goatee off, and why I'm talking about it in the first place. That'll tie in.

September 11th is Saturday. The third anniversary of the terrorist attacks that informed quite a few people that we were at war. The third anniversary of the day we were informed that an ocean on either side of this country wasn't enough to protect us.

The day America was attacked, by the same group that had attacked us before, in Yemen, in Saudi Arabia, in Africa.

Some people will write reflective pieces, some people will let out their rage, and some people will ignore it. The morlocks at DU will howl and scream, gloating at America's suffering. Most of us will utter a small prayer and go about our day, thankful that the people who attacked us are either dead or on the run.

Not me. I won't be writing, or letting out my feelings. I won't be going about my normal day. And I won't be forgetting it.

On Saturday, September 11th, I'll be going to my first Army Reserve drill.

And that chart that linked Bush/Cheney 2004 to the Swift Boat veterans? Still looking in the New York Times for a similar graphic on TexansForKerry (or whatever) and John / John 2004.

Ah well.

UPDATE: And OMIGOD visit DANEgerus here and floow the link to LGF, where some fella with lots of spare time created the 60 Minutes document in Word and superimposed it over the 60 Minutes original from 1972.

We, people, are witnessing a revolution in media. No longer are the columnists and OpEd writers alone in their possession of fact libraries. Even Little Ole Me can do some research and poke a big hole in a Big Media Lie.

It's astounding what we are seeing here.

Even more astounding is that it is likely that these lies have been going on for DECADES, and we didn't know.

Now, I gave my opinion, and I'm going to give it here. We've already had the Left jumping all over that number. The morlocks at DU are gloating and dancing over the deaths of soldiers. The Democrats want to use those deaths as a club against Bush. And it seems that everybody is asking the wrong damn question.

The question cannot, should not, and in my mind will never be "How many is too much"? The Left wants to play a numbers game, it seems. "How many people have to die? How many lives must be lost?" And as the number grows larger, they'll continue hammering away, trying to drive doubt into the minds of America. Remember, the Left's ultimate goal is the total and complete capitulation of America to their wishes, and anything that might help them to that end is fair game. Those military deaths are just another tool to them, another thing for them to use.

But the question should never be "How many", the question should always be "Was it worth it".

Thousands died during Operation Overlord on D-Day in WWII. America lost so many men that day that the beaches of Normandy were literally covered with blood. The ocean ran red, in every sense, from the blood that Americans and British and Canadians shed. We lost more on that day than we have in the entire Iraqi campaign. Was it worth it? I can't find a single person outside of the Neo-Nazi skinheads who say "no". To a man, everyone of sound mind agrees, yes, it was worth it. No price was too high to smash Hitler's tyranny.

We lost more thousands in the Korean War, stopping the communists in their tracks. Was it worth it? Ask, and the majority of people will say "Yes". No price was too high in order to keep Kim Il Sung contained, and allowing freedom to prosper below the DMZ.

The end results of this current war remain to be seen, it's still in progress. But if you were to ask those people who until last year were held in Saddam's rape rooms, I think they would tell you it was worth it. Those 1000 brave men and women gave their lives so that Kurdish children wouldn't have to worry about their entire village being gassed. Those 1000 brave men and woman gave their lives so that a major supporter of international terrorism was removed. We have removed a genocidal, terrorist supporting dictator. We have freed millions upon millions of people from under Saddam's thumb, and we have begun a process in the Middle East that will radically change the world in the future.

I think by any objective standard, it's worth it. Soldiers fear dying, yes, but dying is only the soldier's SECOND worst fear. Do you want to know what the first is?

The soldier's worst fear is dying for NOTHING.

You know, as a soldier, that you may be called into combat. The realities of life and death are pretty much burned into your head from Day One. As a soldier, you understand that should you go into combat, you could die. That is just a simple fact about the Army. Death, even in peacetime, is a constant shadow hovering over your shoulder. Training accidents happen. For a while, the Marines had lost more troops to accidents in the V-22 Osprey than they had to combat. Accepting hazards is part of the military.

But to die, and have your sacrifice made worthless? To have any value of what you did yanked away by self-serving politicians? That's worse than death. Many people can accept the risks, the eventuality of death, but not if it's only for cheap political gain. People can be willing to put their lives in harm's way for great things, but if you cheapen what they do, you have cheapened what they give. And that is worse than death.

It's up to us to ensure that these brave few have NOT died in vain. There is still more to do on the international front. Iraq still has insurgents coming into the country from Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Gaza Strip. Our work is not even half finished. But if those soldier's deaths are to take on meaning, we must push forward.

Don't dishonor them. Grieve for them. You can be sorrowful, yet resolute. You can cry, and yet push forward. You can remember them, and look to the future.

It's not the number, it's the meaning. Don't let those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines die for nothing.

Give their deaths meaning.

UPDATE: On Sondra's thread, commenter "sjmld" made this statement:

"Even discussing an arbitrary limit to how many lives we consider "too much" gives our enemy a goal to shoot for. Do not forget we are as dust to them, infidels. They will not yield until vanquished. Let's not defeat ourselves.
I do not want to fight, or die. But fight I will, and make the enemy die."

Yet another seat has opened up on the Watcher's Council. You know the deal - submit one piece of your own and one piece from somebody else per week, and vote on it. At worst, it brings a little extra traffic to your site.

" More than 1,000 of America's sons and daughters have now given their lives on behalf of their country, on behalf of freedom in the war on terror."

Kerry Spokesman David Wade, today:

"Kerry was referring to U.S. soldiers fighting in parts of Iraq that have now become a breeding ground for terrorists."

Oh, okay. All 1,000+ died "fighting in parts of Iraq that have now become a breeding ground for terrorists," but other than that, it's the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. That clears up everything.

Boy! That Flipper SURE knows how to clear up his inconsistant positions.

Today, however, was not a single Flip Flop sort of day for the Flipper. He's going for broke:

Kerry, today: "I would not have made the wrong choices that are forcing us to pay nearly the entire cost of this war — more than $200 billion that we're not investing in education, health care and job creation here at home."

Kerry, last year:

NBC News, Meet the Press, August 31, 2003
MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe that we should reduce funding that we are now providing for the operation in Iraq?

SEN. KERRY: No. I think we should increase it.

MR. RUSSERT: Increase funding?

SEN. KERRY: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: By how much?

SEN. KERRY: By whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win. It is critical that the United States of America be successful in Iraq, Tim.

I guess he's still proud of voting against the $87 Billion the President requested to fund our troops efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. But according to the Super Duper Flipper Flopper:

Doyle McManus (LA Times): "If that amendment does not pass, will you then vote against the $87 billion?"
Kerry: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to – to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible." (CBS, "Face the Nation," 9/14/03)

"those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president."

First via Instapundit is the final word on the Bush AWOL meme. If the Democrats wanted to continue shooting themselves in the foot, holding on to that meme would be the perfect way. Bravo, Donks! You haven't made the charge stick for five years running, and that article explains why. But if you wish to continue holding on to lies and slandering the service of National Guardsmen, be my guest. It'll make your downfall that much sweeter.

As a Democrat, I would hope that a solid trouncing of our fanatic-ruled party at the polls this November would serve as a wakeup call and remind Democrats that they only get to do the things that the Democrat Party exists to do if they get enough votes to control the White House and Congress. Which requires that you have serious candidates and embrace serious issues that most Americans, not just tiny pressure groups, care about.

And on that day, Democratic moderates can take the party back. And yes, Democratic moderates actually exist. They're all voting for Bush this year, but they'd rather have had a Democratic candidate to vote for.

And last from Random Nuclear Strikes comes the latest in Donk Bullshit. Read and wonder just how mindless the Left has become.

No time for an extended entry today, much too busy. I'll see you tomorrow.

Ok. Flipper took that weapon in hand not thinking about all the irresponsible legislation he and his constituents pushed due to their fear of guns. He wanted a photo op with a gun. Why? Because he is the head of a lunatic fringe political movement and he was trying to appeal to a larger audience. Where are these leftist retards and their "gun slinging" rhetoric? Complicit and silent. Why? They know Kerry's record and they don't care if he has to lie his way into office by brandishing that fire arm. Why? Because Kerry is NOT a leader. Rather he is a puppet. Remember those violent maniac leftist protestors in New York starting shit with delegates of the Republican National Convention? They are the puppet masters. That's how things like this happen. What the hell did he mean by "but I can't take it to the debate with me."? Why did his mind connect that weapon and the debates he will have with the President of the United States? Was he feeling out the crowd? "They must want me to shoot him at the debates." Fruedian slip? ???????????? WHAT?! And who the hell told these cheering simpletons Kerry was a gun enthusiast? The left is out of control, as is their candidate.

Aaron from Free Will has a damn good piece up about Sudan, Darfur, and international non-action in that area of the world. Go read. I'll be here when you get back.

Dum da dum da dum, hmmmmmmm, dum de dum.....

Back? Great. Here's my take:

America can't do jack squat about Darfur right now. We don't have the troops.

If Clinton hadn't done a military fire sale during his eight years in office, we wouldn't be stretched so thin. But he slashed the military. Seriously, Clinton took a double-bit axe to the military on a regular basis, and it shows. It's a testiment to Bush's leadership that the military is doing as well as it is, but the simple fact remains; if we don't get at least another division of Army troops up and running, we can't continue to do the things we're doing. We don't have the manpower. And I'm not even going to touch what the Navy, Air Force and Marines need. I'm sure there are many other people with more knowledge and expertise in those areas than myself.

However, this whole disaster is exposing the rest of the world for what it is. It's exposing the UN (again!) for what it is. Worthless, weak, corrupt, incompetant, and useless. If the rest of the world REALLY wanted to put an end to the genocide, it could. The USA isn't the only country with a military! There are plenty of other countries who have the means to put a stop to the massacres and murder going on in Sudan.

They just don't want to.

Let me add that Britan and Australia, as well as the other countries in our coalition in Iraq are tapped out as well. Contrary to John Kerry's insults and slander, those countries have a hell of a lot more than 500 troops in Iraq and Afganistan. But what about France? Germany? Spain? What about Russia? Where are all the countries who refused to join the USA because we weren't getting rid of Saddam for "the right reasons"? Where are all those countries who call themselves compassionate and caring? Where the hell is the vaunted UN "peacekeepers"?

The protesters here in the USA got one little miniscule part right. It's all about the oil. FRANCE'S oil. France's TotalFinaElf had huge oil contracts with Saddam, and they have their hand in the cookie jar oilcan when it comes to Sudan as well. Germany, for being so "humanitarian" and "peaceloving", doesn't give two hoots about peace anywhere else. And Russia under Putin looks out for itself first. Sudan pumping oil to the rest of the world is competition. Sudan brutalized by thugs and pumping oil to a few corrupt governments like France means Russia can sell it's oil to other countries instead.

And the UN has always been a toothless paper tiger. When your organization consists mostly of corrupt thugs, theocracies, murderers, terrorists, brutal dictators, and criminals of every stripe, all of whom vote against the few upstanding countries trying to do the right thing, you're just S.O.L. Why the hell should Syria allow the world to stop Sudanese genocide? As far as Syria is concerned, that "ethnic cleansing" is perfectly fine! Muslims killing non-muslims! Jihad, Allahu Ackbar, go brother go! Do you really think Cuba gives a shit about Sudan? Hell no! As far as Castro is concerned, the more focus put on Sudan, the less focus put on the murder and torture of dissidents in his own country. Why the hell should Castro help out Sudan?

The only UN peacekeepers worth a damn were the ones from the Anglosphere - America, Australia, and Britan (with Poland recently rejoining the ranks of the competant). The Dutch? Hiding in their compound while civilians get murdered. Everywhere the UN has put troops from other countries than the big four, murder, rape, child prostitution, and corruption has followed. The UN without the USA is worse than nothing, it's an impediment to peace worldwide.

If you want to get a taste of the world without the USA, look at Sudan. If you want to get a taste of Democrat Party policy, look at Sudan. If you want to get a feel for UN control, look at Sudan. If you want to get a taste of how John "Let's enforce UN sanctions" Kerry would handle terrorism.... look at Sudan.

Cicadas, airplanes, wind in the trees. A peaceful weekend. At least here. There’s a bloody child on the front page of the newspaper. The Strib subhead calls them “Islamic guerrillas” and “fighters” and “militants,” because you know one man’s terrorist is another man’s disciple of God who practices his sharpshooting so he can nail children in the back at 50 paces. This teaser to an inside story made my jaw bruise my sternum:

Monday, September 06, 2004

In Najaf, scores of demonstrators took to the streets in the battle-scarred heart of the city near the Imam Ali shrine to protest the presence of al-Sadr and his militia and to back Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who brokered last week's peace deal. The agreement called for the Mahdi Army to give up its arms, but many militia members in Najaf are thought to have kept them, hiding them at home or elsewhere.

"The demands of the demonstrators in general and for the people of Najaf especially are to ensure safety and security and to have stability back," said one protester, 38-year-old Abu Mohammed al-Najafi, identifying himself with a nickname.

Demonstrators shouted chants denouncing al-Sadr, including one that equated him with deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

(emphasis mine)

Remember folks, for the Donks and their whores in the mass media, anything that could be deemed good for Iraq is also good for Bush, and cannot be aired. It might make John Fonda Kerry look bad.

But that doesn't mean it's not happening. Hat tip to (who else?) Instapundit.

EVERY SO OFTEN, A DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN Will rear back on his or her hind legs and roar, "How dare you question my patriotism?" -- as though that were a blacker sin than betraying the country or robbing the productive people in the country blind to finance risky utopian-socialist schemes.

It ought to be a clue -- being that he feels his patriotism under attack (even when it's not) -- that he thinks he's doing something unpatriotic.

I'm wondering, when did it become taboo to call a spade a spade? For too long, the political dictionary has been controlled by the Left. Think about the very term "politically correct". Correct to whom? Not to the Right. The Left speaks about "African-Americans". I want to speak about Americans, no hyphen, no prefix. And yet, it's not "politically correct". Let's just flat out say it. Politically correct=Democrat Party Approved.

How patriotic is it to bear false witness against our military in time of war, poisoning the attitudes of generations of Americans toward our military services, rendering them less able to defend us against the very real threats at large in the world?

My father had red paint poured on him when he came back from Viet Nam. I can remember talking to my mom about it, and how she struggled to hold back tears as she related the story to me, of how they had to keep buying uniforms because the Left kept assaulting my dad. He came back from Viet Nam and was put to work recruiting.

To the Left, he was the perfect target. To John Kerry, he was the perfect target.

It was men like my father who John Kerry accused of murder, rape, and torture. It was men like my father who John Kerry accused of "atrocities reminicent of Ghengis Khan", accusations which were totally baseless and false. And yet John Fonda Kerry has NEVER APOLOGIESED for his role in the degridation of Viet Nam vets, who returned home and wanted to return to normal lives. But you can't live a normal life when you're being spit on, when you have bags of feces thrown at you, or when some idiot is dumping red paint on you or calling you a baby killer. All of those actions were facilitated in part by John Kerry.

You're damn skippy I'm going to question his patriotism.

How patriotic is it to urge, support, and vote in the legislature for massive cuts in every facet of our national defense -- from Defense and weapons appropriations to intelligence budgets -- while saying one is for a -- scorn quotes -- "stronger" America.

When Zell Miller delivered his "Military armed with what? Spitballs?" line at the RNC convention, the crowd roared. And they roared because that wasn't just a throw-away line, it had it's base in the TRUTH. DANEgerus has a link regarding the 1984 defense budget that John Kerry voted against. In that budget were included the MX Missile, B-1 Bomber, Anti-Satellite Systems, 'Star Wars', Tomahawk Cruise Missile, AH-64 Helicopters, Division Air Defense Gun (DIVAD), Patriot Air Defense Missile, Aegis Air-Defense Cruiser, Battleship Reactivation, AV-8B Harrier, F-15 Fighter, F-14 Fighter, Phoenix Air-to-Air Missile, and the Sparrow Air-to-Air Missile. I've bold-faced the weapons systems that that I know were used in Iraq and Afganistan. If John Kerry had his way, our military would be under-equipped and unable to do it's job. And lest anyone think that he was just voting against some pork bill, here's a quote from John Kerry on that very bill.

"There's no excuse for casting even one vote for unnecessary weapons of destruction and as your Senator, I will never do so."

He KNEW what he was voting against. It wasn't some pork bill he opposed, he flat out admits that HE DID NOT WANT THE USA TO HAVE THOSE WEAPONS AND WEAPON SYSTEMS! Hell yeah, I'm questioning his patriotism!

How patriotic is it -- after the national debate has been had and support expressed in the lawful halls of government by both parties -- for one party to continually attack our war leaders while we're engaged?

When you lie about employment numbers just to win an election, hell yes I'll question your patriotism! And yes, DANEgerus has yet another link to prove that John Kerry lied!

When the only record you run on is a four month span in Viet Nam, with no reference to your actions afterwards nor your nineteen year Senate record, then yes, I'll question your patriotism!

When you call your opponent AWOL, yet refuse to release your military records to clear up inconsistancies, then yes, I'll question your patriotism!

When your supporters call American military members "occupiers", when the mouthpiece of your Party calls American's "stupid", when your supporters riot in the streets while calling conservatives "facists", "nazis", "jackbooted thugs", and "war profiteers", and you disavow NONE OF IT, then hell yes I'll question your patriotism!

Four months of combat does not innoculate you from critisim of your actions ever since you got back in country! You might have been a Naval Officer, but meeting up with North Vietnamese Communists in Paris while you're supposed to report to Naval Reserve Duty is anything but patriotic! Hell yes, I'll question your patriotism!

The lies, slander, abuse, false accusations and insults Kerry directed at my father and other Viet Nam veterans disgusts me. The way that Kerry has tried to evade questions about his record disgusts me. The way Kerry lies in order to score cheap political points disgusts me. The way he can't answer a single question honestly disgusts me. And his voting record in the Senate revolts me.

It's about time we stopped using the set of rules handed down by the Democrats. Every time John Fonda Kerry whines "Don't you question my patriotism!", someone needs to step up and ask "Why not?".

Because Kerry has been anything but patriotic for the past thirty years. And calling him on that should not be a source of embaressment.

And spare me the grief and namecalling, all you leftist twits. I have no problem with people coming into this country LEGALLY. As Kim puts it:

And I don't want to hear about "rights" of illegal aliens. Our Constitutional rights are guaranteed for citizens -- they're damn lucky we don't shoot them on sight (as Mexico has been know to do to migrant South Americans on their southern border).

The years of overt legitimization of Palestinian and other terrorism has eroded the civilian status of every human. The road from the point blank shooting of a pregnant Israeli mother and her two little children in the name of dead Palestinians leads directly to the bombing of homes in Riyadh when some Salafists find the Saudi regime not in compliance with their version of Islam.

The seizure of a school full of children was not a far step down from the gleeful immolation of four contract workers in Iraq. Jihadiis define all Americans as legitimate targets and do not lament any Iraqi children within the bomb radius. In England, Sheikh Yousef Al-Qardhawi, head of the International Council of Muslim Clerics published a new fatwa declaring: it is an obligation incumbent on the Muslims to kill American citizens in Iraqâ€¦it is forbidden however to desecrate their corpses.

The path to School Number One runs through Spain and the Philippines and the appeasement of terrorists. It runs through the Sudan where hundreds of thousands of children may die in an accommodation to the sovereignty of a brutal Islamic regime. It runs daily through Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India, in smaller but no less brutal acts of jihad.

She gets it. And check out the mouth-breathing dhimmicrat "Joe" in the comments section.

Seriously, I'm looking at "Meet The Press" right now, and there's 'ol Pat, mumbling away on something or other. Why the hell is this guy still around? He doesn't speak for the Republican Party. He's not a part of mainstream conservative thought. He's out on the fringe, blathering away, alive only because the Democrats need a weak opponent on national programs so that they can debate and not have their ass handed to them on a silver platter. Buchanan doesn't speak for me, or for any of the people on the Right side of the political spectrum that I know. Hell, I can imagine the internal dialogue that went on in Tim Russert's head.

"Crap, we've got Bob Graham on today. How the hell can I make him look good? The guy's a senile mushmouthed loon! Damndamndamndamndamn... oh wait! CALL PAT BUCHANAN! He makes ANY Democrat look good!"

The guy is out of any real politics (due to the fact that he's a nut), and he's out of touch with Conservatism today. His only reason for being on TV is the fact that the Democrats can't debate with a real conservative, so they bring in the soft guy to make themselves look good. If the Donks had to debate any real Republican, they'd get their asses handed to them the majority of the time.

UPDATE: Hell, Newt Gingrich is on right now, slapping Russert around like a pimp. NEWT FRIGGING GINGRICH! Mr. "I haven't even sniffed a congressional fart since 1996" Gingrich!

Sir George over at the Rott links to a piece from a San Francisco newspaper that shows a moment of honest truth.

I know, I know, honest truth from a San Fran fishwrap? But it's true. However, it's not just the article I wanted to bring to your attention, it's the writing from George that accompanies it.

I think George just lifted himself up with Bill Whittle as a master of wordcraft.

Though John Kerry may be skilled at shooting kids in the back or backstabbing anyone dumb enough to put their faith in him, he didn't exactly hold a gun to anyone's head and make them pull the voting lever for him. He's the anti-____ candidate who depends on masses of well-meaning but poorly informed voters to mistakenly guess what fills in that blank to grant him his ambitions. He's the embodiment of a candidate of the flaky, by the flaky, and for the flaky, and the more thoughtful flakes are figuring that out.

That has to be one of the best stinging rebukes of John Fonda Kerry I've ever read. And there's more!

Their fear of religion had them supporting a brutal fundamentalist theocracy; their demand for sexual equality had them supporting a country where women were horsewhipped for showing ankle; their horror at genocide had them supporting a man who ran death camps to meet the mass grave quotas; their disgust for soldiers had them support a country that was little more than an army ruling over the captive breeding stock that refilled the ranks; their fear of Ashcroft had them supporting a police state where people routinely disappear for not praising their maximum leader loudly enough; their outrage over the Florida election had them supporting a man who'd eliminated the last person foolish enough to vote against him. So after all these contradictions it was only a small thing to find themselves on a Quixotic quest to find a pro-war/anti-war candidate, a war-criminal/war-hero, an unwounded casualty, a patriotic traitor. Yet not all on the left can sleep at night just by toking the bong, drinking the Kool-Aid, and saying three "Hell Bushes", so articles like this will keep oozing out at an ever increasing rate as Kerry flounders on his own contradictions, finishing much like this one, with the stark truth of the situation.

#3 Eschaton has big hopes for the new Kitty Kelly book on the Bush family

#4 Andrew Sullivan is also focused on the RNC and Zell. I sense a pattern here.

#5 Kevin Drum has four consecutive posts about Bush's bounce in the polls.

#6 Talk Left is talking about the RNS and, amazingly enough, Abu Ghraib.

#7 Tom Tomorrow writes that anyone who tries to use Kerry's Winter Soldier testimony against him is perpetrating 'Revisionist History'.

#8 Pandagon frightens themselves with the Newsweek and Time poll results and continues the 'Republicans = racists' crap.

#9 Tapped insists that Iraq should follow the economy on the list of campaign issues and bitches about the Texas delegation at the RNC.

#10.1 Oliver Willis is currently down. Maybe he pulled a Sullivan and switched parties, thereby causing a million small voices in the universe to cry out in fear, collapsing his site.

We'll check back with him later. Until then....

#10.2 Orcinus is on vacation, sooooooo

#10.3 Ahhh, digby at Hullabaloo is really pissed that the Navy might be investigating Kerry's medals and goes on to try and rally the troops for Kerry after Bush's bounce.

I didn't see Juan Cole on the TTLB anywhere, but FYI, he's still talking about the 'Israeli spy' case and counting the months and the dead in Iraq.

Sadly, I cannot speak for the next 8 (or 10) leftie blogs as I just don't have the time. Once you get this far down in the blog-ecosystem, you kind of have to go through all the blogs because the left leaning ones don't really stand out.

Why do I point to this? Because as I said, it's indicative of the political spectrums. By and large, the blogs of the Right are on this story. Michelle at A Small Victory is raising money for the victims of this terrorist attack. Most of the blogs on the right are expressing their outrage at the murder of innocent kids.

The Left? They're whining about Zell Miller and the RNC convention. They're bitching about Bush's poll bounce. And above all, they're insulting anyone to the Right of themselves.

Shortly after, she learned that she would have to choose between taking her son or her daughter.

Dzandarova had both Alan and Alana with her and made a snap decision to pass Alana to her 16-year-old sister-in-law. But the guerrillas saw through the ruse and refused to allow her to take the older child.

"Alana was clinging to me and holding my hand firmly. But they separated us, and said: 'You go with the boy. Your sister can stay here with her.' I cried. I begged them. Alana cried. The women around us wept. One of the Chechens said: 'If you don't go now, you don't go at all. You stay here with your children … and we will shoot all of you.' "

She couldn't save both of them. She could only die with both of them — or save one of them and herself.

"I didn't have time to think what I was doing," she said. "I pressed Alan even stronger to myself, and I went out, and I heard all the time how my daughter was crying and calling for me behind my back. I thought my heart would break into pieces there and then."

(emphasis mine)

What kind of inhuman scum forces a mother to make that choice? The brutal torture of women and children.......

THE TORTURE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN!!!!!

These scum sucking parasites SHOT CHILDREN IN THE BACK!

Kill them. Kill them all. Find every terrorist training camp and bomb it flat. Find every person who supports terrorists and kill them all. Kill the entire family. Salt the earth where they live. Find anyone who gives money to terrorism and kill them. Find anyone harboring terrorists and kill them. Kill them all.

Find villages who help terrorists and bomb it until nothing lives. Hunt them down and kill them. Find their families and kill them as well. Destroy anything and everything that the terrorists use. Napalm their villages, salt the earth, and plow it under. Leave nothing standing, nothing remaining. Find where their parents live and kill them as well. I want to inflict more pain and suffering on these oxygen thiefs than anyone ever thought possible. I would gladly find the person who ordered this mass murder and cut their throat. I would reach into their neck and yank their tongue out with my bare hands, and laugh while they drowned to death in their own blood. These people are not human, they are parasites feeding on humanity and destroying it in the process.